John Kirtley is the co-founder of two private equity firms based in Tampa, Florida. His current firm, KLH Capital, invests in management buyouts of smaller middle-market companies. For several years, he has been working in the cause of parental choice and education reform. In 1998, he created the Children's Scholarship Fund of Tampa Bay, which partnered with the national organization Children Scholarship Fund and provided privately funded scholarships for lower-income children to attend the K - 8 school of their choice. He is the Former President of Children First America and a former director of The American Education Reform Foundation, both national school choice advocacy organizations. He is currently Vice Chairman of the American Federation for Children (AFC), a national non-profit. He is also Chairman of the Florida Federation for Children. In the 2001 Florida legislative session, he helped fight for a new law that gives corporations tax credits for donating to scholarship organizations that help lower-income children attend the school of their choice. He is currently Chairman of Step Up for Students, which administers these scholarships under this law. Kirtley is also a board member of the Florida Charter School Alliance, The Hillsborough Education Foundation and The James Madison Institute. He is married with two daughters.